Pinsent Masons publishes its 2020 pay gap report

A foreword from Richard Foley:

“As the pay gap reporting regime enters its fifth year in Great Britain, businesses across the world are adapting to the impact of Covid-19, the consequences of which are far reaching both from an economic and societal perspective.

“As the full impact of the crisis is yet to be realised, now more than ever, a clear and decisive commitment to belonging and inclusion is critical. We believe doubling down on efforts to create a genuinely inclusive environment in which our people can innovate, thrive and be successful is a vital aspect of our response to the pandemic.

“We are immensely proud of the work we have done to date, but it's critical that we don't become complacent. Our strength as an innovative professional services business with law at the core hinges on the success of our people and the working environment we create to support them.

“Pay gap reporting highlights the value and importance of our drive to promote diversity and inclusion. This year we have opted to report on our disability pay gap for the first time as we underscore our commitment to belonging and inclusion and strengthen our network groups to encourage and champion change for all of our people.

“While we recognise that publishing data will not address the issue, it serves as a powerful reminder that our work to promote change and make business work better for people must continue apace.”

Pay gap explained:

The median shows the difference between the middle earning male and the middle earning female when earnings are ranked in numerical order. The mean is the difference between the 'average' earnings for males and the 'average' earnings for females and will be more influenced by outlying salaries (eg. very high or very low earners).

Pay gap reporting is distinct from equal pay. It does not relate to what men and women are paid for performing the same, similar roles or roles of equal value. We have robust systems in place which safeguard equal pay via regular monitoring. The pay gap reporting regime incorporates data from our workforce across England and Scotland.

Breakdown of workforce

Combined employee and partner gender pay gap

In 2020 the firm's median and mean combined employee and partner pay gaps closed marginally to 39.31% and 50.81% respectively. The pay gap is influenced by the proportion of men and women working in roles within four pay bandings - described as quartiles - across our English and Scottish offices. For example, 72.3% of our female workforce in Scotland and England work in the lower quartile compared to 27.6% of our male workforce population. 

Achievements in 2020

• Working Families – named a top ten family friendly employer for fourth year in a row
• The Times top 50 employers for Women
• FT Diversity Leaders 2020 – secured 11th place in the annual report ranking businesses and their contribution to creating and promoting inclusive workplaces.

The firm continues to enhance its suite of programmes and tools designed to promote gender diversity such as the Global Carers Policy which supports working families and those with caring responsibilities, and career progression support via our gender balance programme SKY. Furthermore as part of the firm's response to the pandemic, the Together Plan (our reduced hours programme) was structured mindfully to safeguard pay in the lower quartiles and ensure women were not disproportionately affected by a temporary reduction in pay.

Ethnicity pay gap

Based on a declaration rate of 97%

While it is positive to see the combined median and mean ethnicity pay gap close last year it is important to note that the data is based on 13.4% of our England and Scotland based workforce being from an ethnic minority background.
Last year the firm made significant progress in rolling out a number of programmes designed to improve ethnic diversity and tackle long term and entrenched inequalities that can be seen across the legal profession.

Achievements in 2020

• Launched Talk about Race short film which seeks to promote transparency and discussion about race and ethnicity and the barriers to progression for minority ethnic communities.
• Committed to Rare Race Fairness Commitment and Business in the Community’s Race at Work Charter
• Launched a three tiered mentoring programme including reciprocal, group and reverse mentoring to promote discussion, debate and enable everyone to make business work better for people.

LGB pay gap

Based on a declaration rate of 93%

Achievements in 2020

• Stonewall  – named as a top five inclusive employer in the UK Workplace Equality Index and listed in the global index

The number of individuals identifying as members of the LGB community is 4.3%.

The relatively small number of people identifying as LGB compared to our workforce as a whole can prompt annual fluctuations in the pay gap, as illustrated by the mean and median LGB gaps in 2020.

Disability pay gap

Based on a declaration rate of 74%

We have opted to report our disability pay gap for the first time as the firm develops its disability network groups with the aim of improving awareness and inclusion across the firm. This data is based on 4.78% of our workforce in England and Scotland identifying as an individual with a disability.

Achievements in 2020

• Launched our Neurodiversity Network to support and raise awareness of all aspects of neurodiversity including ADHD, autism, dyscalculia, dyslexia and dyspraxia
• Joined the Valuable 500 movement which seeks put disability on the business leadership agenda and unlock the social and economic value of people living with disabilities across the world.
• Recognised as a Disability Confident Employer by the Department of Work and Pensions

The full pay gap report 2020 is also available.